City crews are fighting back against snow-filled streets with seven trucks that target the city’s major streets and emergency routes. The trucks dump a sand-and-salt mixture in most places.

“We keep the mag chloride for bridges and really icy spots because it’s the most potent de-icer we have,” Wilkinson said.

It’s well-known, or ought to be, that Pueblo residential streets are left to Mother Nature to clear. While city crews will hit the occasional trouble spot with salt and sand, most neighborhood streets stay snowy until sunshine and warmth clear them.

Pueblo County just restocked its winter war chest, too, bringing in another 2,000 tons of sand and salt.

“That’s about what we use in a typical winter, but this hasn’t been a typical winter,” said Alf Randall, of the county public works department. “We’re paying more for it but we’re not having any trouble getting supply.”

Unlike the city, county crews don’t use mag chloride. It’s effective but corrosive. Which is one reason the city usually confines its use to bridges and essential routes.

The county can roll out 15 trucks to sand roads and 10 graders to plow dirt roads in a storm.

Colorado Department of Transportation officials said this week they are running low on de-icing chemicals, although they expect to be fully restocked by the end of the month.